Revelation
by Eryndil
Summary: An episode tag for 'Out of the Past'. How did Mick and Beth react to the sudden revelation of his secret? Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: This is the first Moonlight fic I have attempted (and only my second ever fanfic). The final scene in 'Out of the Past' is one of my favourites and I was thinking about how Mick and Beth would react to the sudden revelation of his secret. That's where this came from. It was going to be a single chapter, but it ended up longer than I expected so it will now be a three parter. This fic is written from alternating points of view (Beth and Mick) and is heavy on inner conflict and contemplation but light on action. It hasn't been beta'd and I'm still learning the ropes, so please forgive any mistakes.

Title: Revelation

Rating: T (as a precaution)

Spoilers: For episodes 1 and 2 of Moonlight

Disclaimer: The series Moonlight and all characters from it are copyright of Warner Bros. I make no claim to the series, much as I love it. This story is written for non commercial purposes only.

Summary: An episode tag for 'Out of the Past'. How did Mick and Beth react after he spoke those immortal words...

* * *

BPOV

"What are you?"

I stared in horror at the face of the man before me, his unnatural pallor and the strange inhuman eyes that were fixed on mine. His answer, when it came, was shocking, unthinkable, and yet somehow it was not unexpected.

"I'm a vampire."

The words echoed in my mind as I stood there, unable to speak or even to move. I heard them clearly but I couldn't make sense of them. My thoughts seemed to move so slowly, like they sometimes did in my nightmares, and I had a curious feeling of paralysis. Was this even real? The seconds stretched out into an age but I stayed rooted to the spot, my eyes still locked with his; I couldn't look away.

After a long moment, he broke the contact, closing his eyes as if in pain. Perhaps he was. I had heard the gunshots, seen the bullet holes. Any normal man would be in agony. Actually, any normal man would be dead. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind - it was more than I could deal with in my state of shock.

It wasn't true of course, what he had said. Vampires didn't exist after all, so it had to be impossible, didn't it? I looked again at the man huddled on the floor, seeing the blood bag clenched in his hand, the pale white skin...the fangs...the blood around his mouth.

And still I made no sound, not even to scream. His appearance was horrifying, but this was Mick and I trusted him. Even now, I felt safe in his presence as I had almost since the first time I met him. The silence hung heavy in the room for an eternity, then, at last, he spoke again.

* * *

MPOV

The look on her face tore into me, piercing me as mere silver bullets never would. I couldn't bear to watch what I knew would come next - the slow realisation of the truth, the terror, the disgust. From anyone else I could take it, but not from her, not from Beth. So I closed my eyes and waited.

I'm not sure what I expected her to do, but she didn't move, didn't even say a word. It was almost as if she hadn't heard what I said, but I knew that was too much to hope for. Although I couldn't see her, I could sense her staring at me and eventually I couldn't stand it any longer. Better that she should leave now than prolong the agony.

"Get out of here, Beth"

I barely recognised my own voice, twisted by pain and despair into a hoarse whisper. She didn't react. I opened my eyes, glaring at her.

"Go on, leave me alone!" Louder this time and harsher, I finally got a response. She flinched and I cringed inside, hating myself for scaring her. Now would come the fear and the revulsion for the monster I truly was. I watched her and part of me hoped that she would stay, even as I did my best to drive her away. She hesitated and looked at me, her eyes confused and uncertain. I tried again, shouting in my desperation.

"Just get out!"

At last she fled. The door slammed behind her and I was left on my own to face my personal demons.

* * *

BPOV

I can't remember the drive home from Mick's apartment. The fog in my mind had finally cleared and my thoughts were racing out of control. Could it be true? No, it was ridiculous, incredible. Vampires were a myth, they were cold-blooded killers, found in melodramatic stories about Transylvania and such places. They certainly didn't live in Los Angeles and work as private investigators. It must have been the bloodloss making Mick delirious.

Bloodloss. Blood. I couldn't forget the image of his face - even now, I could see it as clearly as if he was right here in front of me. The blood on his mouth...dripping from his lips. If vampires didn't exist, how could I explain what I had seen?

And then there were the other memories - the ones I had tried to ignore: Mick pulling a knife out of his chest; the photo of his 'father' that could have been his identical twin; the times that he had suddenly disappeared without a sound; and, over it all, I heard the voice of Lee Jay Spaulding:

"I know what you are"

I had tried to believe Mick's explanations, not wanting to face the impossible reality, but now I couldn't hide from it any longer. I had to admit to myself what I had begun to suspect - that Mick St John was something 'other', something not quite human. But a vampire? I shook my head at the thought, not yet ready to accept the truth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two. I let go a bit on this one and the result is rather more in-depth reflection from both Mick and Beth. Expect plenty of angst, soul-searching and a certain amount of logic! It feels bad to make Mick suffer like this (I love him really!) but we all know how things work out in the end. I'm currently wondering if it's weird to look at the image of him at the end of this episode and still think he looks gorgeous...

Rating and spoilers as before.

Disclaimer: The series Moonlight and all characters from it are copyright of Warner Bros. I do not own any rights to the series, or it would never have been cancelled. This story is written for non commercial purposes only.

* * *

MPOV

I remained slumped on the floor for a long time, weak from the silver and crushed by the sense of loss. Part of me had wanted her to know what I was but, now that she did, I could only curse myself for having spoken the words that opened her eyes to my true nature. The feeling of misery was overwhelming and I sank into it, allowing the shadows to fill my mind.

I don't know how long I stayed like that, but eventually the thirst drew me out of my stupor. I could not ignore my need for blood and I raised the bag in my hand, pushing the tube into my mouth again. As I gulped compulsively at the blood, its rich tangy flavour both allured and repelled me. An unwanted but unavoidable reminder of the monster within me, it lingered on my tongue, intensifying the craving.

I grimaced in self-disgust, a familiar sense of shame flooding through me as the warm liquid flowed down my throat. How could I ever imagine that I could live like humans, be accepted by them, fit into their world? I was a vampire and I deserved their condemnation. I knew how I must have looked to Beth and the memory of her expression tormented me. She would despise me, and that was probably for the best. I was no good for her.

My thoughts drifted back 22 years to the day I first met her. I had saved her life, it's true, but she would never had needed saving it it weren't for me. Coraline had kidnapped her in an insane attempt to repair our marriage. Right from the start, I had caused trouble for Beth. I remembered the fear in her eyes as she watched the fight that ended in my wife's death.

I had seen that same emotion as she stood in the warehouse, the gun in her hand shaking. I knew that I would rather die than cause her to look at me in fear. Was there any chance at all that she could know what I was and not feel terror? It seemed like an impossible hope, although I did not doubt her courage. I had seen plenty of evidence of it, most recently when she came to my aid this evening, shooting Lee Jay as he was about to kill me.

She had saved my life and all I could say was "I thought I told you to stay in the car," like an irate father chastising his child. I shook my head, angry at my inadequate response. I just couldn't get anything right where Beth was concerned.

I felt some of my strength returning and I stood up, retrieving the two remaining blood bags and hastily swallowing their contents. I walked into the kitchen to dispose of the empty bags, clearing away all evidence of my ghoulish nature. Keeping the secret was a fundamental rule of the vampire community and one that I observed as a matter of course.

A thought suddenly occurred to me - even in my weakened state I should have known better than to leave the door open when I came home earlier on. I couldn't believe I had been so careless. Preoccupied with my inexplicable mistake, I turned to walk back to the seating area, then caught myself as I stumbled against the kitchen counter. I badly needed to get some sleep if I was to recover properly from the poison in my body. I made my way to the stairs, more than willing to climb into my freezer. Right now, oblivion would be welcome.

* * *

BPOV

When I arrived at my apartment, I found three messages on my answering machine, all of them from Josh. He had heard about what had happened, of course, and he was worried. He asked me to ring him as soon as I got home and offered to come round and keep me company. That was the last thing I wanted at that moment.

I hung my coat on the hook and dropped my bag next to the couch before walking to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. I had barely started to drink it when the phone rang and I wasn't surprised to hear Josh's voice when I answered. Any other time I would have been touched by his concern and glad for the comfort of his presence. Today I just wanted him to leave me in peace so that I could think about what had happened at Mick's apartment.

It wasn't easy to convince Josh that I was OK, but eventually I pursuaded him that I just needed to get some sleep and would be fine on my own. Then I took another sip of my coffee and settled onto the couch for some serious thinking. I had recovered from my initial shock and my reporter's instincts had begun to kick in. I decided to look at the facts in a logical manner, no matter how crazy the whole idea seemed.

Firstly, what did I know about Mick? Surprisingly little, I realised, and certainly nothing that would directly contradict what he had said to me. What I had observed of him, on the other hand, might actually support his astonishing claim. There were all those odd incidents that had never seemed to add up. For instance, he had a strange way of appearing without warning and disappearing equally quickly. In fact, he did seem to move with extraordinary speed when I wasn't looking.

And I thought I'd seen him on the warehouse roof this evening, but I had dismissed it as my imagination, as I usually did with Mick. Just like those things I had seen when Daniel, Professor Ellis's teaching assistant, had drugged me. No ordinary human would be able to jump onto a moving car that way, or throw a grown man into the air, not to mention being stabbed in the chest with no apparent injury. I had put it all down to the drugs making me hallucinate - now I wasn't so sure.

Then there was the mystery of his 'father'. When I told Mick that the man in the photograph looked like his twin, he gave some glib reply about inheriting "strong genes", but could it have been _him_ in the picture? The old police officer, Bobby Desmond, had insisted that the Mick St John he had known had no children. Supposedly, vampires didn't age, so perhaps it really was Mick 25 years ago. If that was the case, just how old was he? He could be hundreds - or even thousands - of years old! I filed that thought away to consider at a later date.

I scoured my memory for anything else I knew about vampire mythology. Well, they certainly didn't like garlic or crosses and there was something about holy water, but I had no idea how Mick reacted to any of these. It crossed my mind to wonder if he slept in a coffin but, since I couldn't know that either, I moved on to the next question. What about sunlight - wasn't it meant to be deadly to them? Now that I thought about it, most of the time I had seen Mick, it was after dark or in the shade. But I was sure that I had seen him in the sun at least once.

That line of thought was turning out to be pretty inconclusive and I knew that it was time to turn my mind to the most famous vampire characteristic - the one I had been putting off. The disturbing image floated before my eyes again and I could no longer deny what I had seen: Mick had been drinking blood. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't human. I knew from my encounter with the professor how some people could delude themselves, but that wouldn't explain the rest of this craziness.

I couldn't forget the way he had looked. The extreme pallor of his face could be a result of being shot. His eyes, on the other hand... His irises had been a very pale blue or silver, almost colourless. I had never heard of any kind of bullet that could cause that. And there was something else. When he spoke, I had seen his teeth and the fangs were unmistakable. There really was only one conclusion. However unthinkable it was, I had to accept the possibility that Mick was telling the truth. That he was...it was still hard even to think the word but I forced myself to face the facts at last. Mick was a vampire.


	3. Chapter 3

Last chapter and I'm still being tough on poor Mick. There's something compelling about the powerful immortal creature brought to such a vulnerable state (or maybe I'm just sadistic!) Hopefully this all fits in with what happens in the next episode. Writing this, I just couldn't resist a veiled reference to what happens in 'Fever'.

Rating and spoilers as before.

Disclaimer: The series Moonlight and all characters from it are copyright of Warner Bros. I have no claim to any rights to the series, although I wish I had a claim to Mick. This story is written for non commercial purposes only.

* * *

MPOV

I undressed slowly, painfully, still feeling the effects of the silver. As I hung up my jacket, I looked at the bloody holes where the buckshot had smashed into my shoulder and back. They were a potent reminder of how close I had come to dying - really dying this time, with no 'unlife' to follow. The memory came to me unbidden - the sudden agony as the bullets hit, the spreading weakness as the poison began to take hold in my body almost instantly.

I had been near death a few times before but this time I really thought it was the end, and I was suprised to find that I didn't want to die. I had always hated my existence as a vampire but recently I had started to feel that there was something worth living for.

22 years ago, I had saved Beth's life and that one act had made me realise that I didn't have to accept the fate that had been handed to me. I could fight the monster within me and try to make amends for the past. I had looked into her frightened eyes, felt her small arms clinging to me so trustingly, and I had sworn to myself that I would keep her safe.

Through the years, I had watched over her from the shadows and seen her grow from the scared little girl to a confident woman. Then, when I was needed, I had saved her again and carried her in my arms one more time. Just like she had so long ago, she clung to me and everything else had faded away. No matter what I had endured or would suffer in the future, she made it all worthwhile.

I removed the rest of my clothes and climbed carefully into my freezer, lying down on the cold, hard glass. I pulled the lid shut and closed my eyes, but sleep eluded me. I kept seeing flashes of images: Beth as a child; walking barefoot through that fountain; unconscious on my couch; in the warehouse this evening; her face after I told her what I was. I had destroyed the trust that she had given me so freely and I would probably lose her as a result. The thought hit me hard, raising a sharp ache in my chest as if my unbeating heart had contracted. How would I cope with the empty space she left behind?

It shouldn't have been so difficult - I had lived without her for many years before, so why did I suddenly feel as if a great weight had been dropped on me? I knew the answer. All that time when she was growing up, I had stayed out of sight, unknown to her, but now I had felt her touch and I wanted more. I wanted to spend time with her, to talk to her and see her smile. I wanted her to know what I was and not be afraid of me. I needed her to trust me again.

I realised now that her hold on me had become as strong as Coraline's had once been, although it took a very different form. The two of them were opposites, like night and day. My ex-wife had been an addictive drug to me, seductive and deadly. Beth was like air to a drowning man or water in the desert. There was so much to her personality that drew me to her; she was smart, spirited, brave and determined. I should have known she wouldn't have stayed in the car when she heard the gunshots. My Beth was not easily deterred.

My Beth? No, she would never be that, especially now. Whatever friendship there might have been between us was doomed the moment she walked in through my door today. How on earth could I have been so stupid as to leave it open? I knew what she was like and I should have expected her to come looking for me. Then again, maybe I did. Perhaps deep down, I knew what would happen and I left the door open on purpose, wanting her to find out.

Well, if I had, then I deserved everything I got. It was unlikely that I would see her again after this and, if I did, the terror in her eyes would be my just reward. Even as I thought this, a small part of me still clung to hope. She was brave, as I had said, so maybe there was a chance that she could accept me for what I was and not be afraid. A foolish hope, I reviled myself, it would never happen.

My thoughts continued to chase round in circles as the fatigue slowly enveloped my mind. At last I drifted into a deep but uneasy sleep with no hope at all for sweet dreams.

* * *

BPOV

Mick was a vampire! My rational side rebelled at the very thought, still refusing to believe it. Perhaps I needed to say it out loud. Maybe if I heard the words in my own voice, I could take them seriously. Taking a deep breath, I spoke slowly and distinctly.

"Mick is a vampire."

No, it still sounded completely crazy, utterly ridiculous. I began to laugh a little hysterically. It wasn't long before the laughter turned into sobbing, as the stresses of the last 24 hours finally caught up with me. I cried for some time, letting out the turmoil of emotions that I had been holding back. Eventually, I calmed down and I walked to the bathroom to wash my face.

As I returned to the couch and picked up my now very cold coffee, I realised that my outburst had helped to clear my head. Suddenly I was able to view the situation quite objectively and it occurred to me to think about the implications of what I had found out about Mick. I crossed to the kitchen and switched the kettle on, deep in thought.

The first question had to be about my safety. I was no expert on the subject, but I knew the basic 'facts' about vampires, same as anyone else. And top of the list right now was this one: they killed people. I had seen enough old horror movies to know how it went. That iconic image of Dracula biting the neck of his helpless victim and draining her blood. If Mick really was a vampire (and I was still using the word 'if' right now), then was there any risk that he would want to drink _my_ blood?

I tried to consider it seriously but I just couldn't imagine Mick being a danger to me. I had always felt safe with him, even when I smashed that vase over his head after he startled me in the dead student's room. I had suggested that he might be the murderer, but that was just an automatic reaction - I had never felt any threat from him. He had even saved my life, which wouldn't make sense if he wanted to kill me. Unless he was keeping me for dinner, of course... No, I was certain that Mick was no danger. I had learnt to have faith in my instincts and they were telling me that I could trust him. I just hoped I didn't end up regretting that confidence.

I realised that the kettle had boiled and I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee. I took a sip and held the cup in both hands, feeling the warmth seeping through the china, inhaling the comforting aroma while I let my mind wander. There were so many unanswered questions, I didn't know where to begin. If vampires really did exist, how many of them were there? Was Mick the only one, or were they all around us, living as humans? That was a disturbing idea and I wondered if there was some way of recognising them. Or maybe I should just carry garlic with me from now on. I laughed out loud at the thought, bemused that I was even contemplating this.

Sitting here in my apartment, with the morning light streaming through my windows and the familiar smell of coffee in the air, I was beginning to question what I had seen and heard. Perhaps I really had imagined it all. There was only one way to be sure - I had to speak to Mick. And if he confirmed my crazy notions, well I would have a lot of questions to ask him. I swallowed another mouthful of my drink then yawned widely, suddenly remembering that I had not yet slept. The mixture of adrenalin and coffee had held off the tiredness so far but now it was catching up fast.

I walked wearily into the bedroom and undressed, leaving my clothes on the floor to tidy away when I had more energy. As I crawled into the bed and dragged the covers over me, I thought about seeing Mick again. Maybe I'd leave it a day or two, as tomorrow seemed a bit too soon. I felt nervous about talking to him, but strangely not afraid. I recalled his face again and there was no sense of horror at the memory. The image of him huddled on the ground, hiding himself from me, evoked only sympathy now.

As the sleep began to claim me, his words echoed in my mind once more. I heard the apprehension in his voice as he said, "please don't look at me." He was ashamed to let me see him that way and, when he had finally told me what he was, it sounded like a confession from a condemned man. I had an odd desire to help him, to comfort him if I could. Eventually, I slipped into a quiet slumber, and my last waking thought was to wonder how you become a vampire.

I dreamed of Mick again but, this time, he looked at me and his face changed. He became the pale, inhuman creature I had seen this evening but I felt no fear. Instead, I smiled at him and, when he reached out his hand to me, I went with him willingly. My hands slipped behind his neck and I clung to him as he carried me. In my dream, I could not tell whether I was a child again or an adult, but I knew that I was safe in his arms, and that was all that mattered.

I slept on peacefully and my dreams were sweet.

END

* * *

So that's it! Thanks to everyone who has read this story. This writing business is still very new to me, so I welcome any comments and reviews. I'm now writing another Moonlight fic and I hope it will be completed soon. Best wishes to all my fellow Moonlight-lovers: it may have been cancelled but it lives on in our hearts and fanfics!


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